A mixed bag weather wise this week – fingers crossed for a fine weekend.
This Weekend’s Events
Tomorrow is our annual Halberg Tournament that is put on by the Eagles Society to raise funds for the Murray Halberg Disability Sport Foundation which is dedicated to the welfare of disabled children. We have a field of over 60 and the draw is currently being prepared. Registration will be at 10am tomorrow and play will get underway at 10.30am via a shotgun start. Late entries will be accepted but make sure you register early as the organisers will also be playing. The entry fee is $10 plus bring extra for raffles and the charity auction after the event. Being a shot gun start from holes 1, 5, 8 and 10 the course will be closed for general play until 3pm, although our very early Saturday morning regulars who are not playing in the event are welcome to tee off before 8am so long as they are clear of the 10th by 10.15.
Road working crews were meant to be repairing some of the seal along South Makara Road today - there was no sign of them this morning but nevertheless, drive carefully on your way out tomorrow in case there is some new seal and loose stones along the way.
On Sunday we are hosting the Wellington regional Women’s Champion of Champions tournament which will see all the women’s champions from the various golf clubs throughout the greater Wellington district competing against each other over 36 holes to determine the overall champion and the top club. We are expecting a field of 42 who will tee off in groups of 3 between 8 and 8.30am from tees 1, 5 and 8 and again from the same tees between 12.30 and 1pm. Our early Sunday morning regulars are welcome to tee off before 8am but only from tees 8 or 10, so not to disrupt the women’s field. Similarly our mid morning regulars are also welcome to tee off from the first tee from between 8.45 and 10am. Tee slots will also be available from between 1.15pm and 3pm.
Annual general Meeting Saturday 1 December 2018
Only one week to go until our AGM on Saturday 1 December. Nominations for the 2019 Committee need to be in by today. To date, the existing Committee members have agreed to re-stand, and Adrian Porter has been nominated as Vice President. We would also welcome someone with an accounting background to join the Committee as an understudy to our existing Treasurer Wayne Cook – if this could be you please notify the club. We will be circulating the full set of papers for the AGM early next week – please read them and come to the meeting – it starts at 9.30am and will be followed by a disc draw fun tournament.
Shootout
Also only one week to go for our would-be gun slingers to complete 15 qualifying rounds to be eligible for a start in the Shootout on Sunday 2 December. Most of the contenders have already qualified but if you are still one or two rounds short, your Halberg round tomorrow can count – just remember to click on Shootout as well as Halberg when you print out your scorecard.
Pat Redmond Farewell
As previously advised, our long serving green keeper Pat Redmond will be relinquishing his position at the end of the year to take up a role with the Terawhiti Trust. In recognition of his outstanding service to the club over 35 years we will be holding a PR Benefit Tournament as part of our Closing Day event on Saturday 15 December. This will be an Irish Foursomes event which will begin with breakfast in the club house and close with prize giving and an official farewell and thank you to Pat. Please lock this date into your diaries now.
Interclub 2019
Fifty players have expressed interest in playing Interclub Golf in the 2019 season and are now included in a squad of Interclub Players. The three team Captains have been appointed: Tim Richards - Div 2, Mark Peck - Div 5 and Carl Beentjes - Div 9 and they are working with Men’s Interclub Manager Geoffrey Lee to prepare for the 2019 season. So far they have grouped players into three roughly equal sized Divisional squads using criteria like handicap index, previous playing history, player preferences and some "Captains" picks. Having squads of about 15 players allows for the limited availability indicated by 15 to 20 players and also enables some regulars a rest when they need to. Several ideas have emerged about how best to prepare for the season and the three we are progressing are: Match Play Trials (provisional dates Sunday 9 and Sunday 16 December), an Interclub players challenge ladder - bit like a squash ladder and "Tips of the Week" on preparation, practice and match play. Division 5 Captain Mark Peck has offered to sponsor the team shirts for Div 5 and we are looking for sponsorship for Div's 2 and 9. Please contact the Club if you know of a potential sponsor.
Women’s Midweek Club
9 Hole Midweek Women
Unfortunately the weather gods thwarted any attempts by the mid week women to get onto the course on either Tuesday or Thursday mornings, although somewhat cruelly, both afternoons turned out perfect. Hopefully better weather will prevail next week.
Men’s Wednesday Club
Despite hail, heavy rain and cold weather, 28 members turned up for the competition. However, those who persevered had a perfect day for golf since the weather was not hot, cool and full of sunshine. The course condition was also magnificent.
As a result, 6 players had a stableford score better than their handicaps. The regular winner of the day was Mike Cox with a score of 40, followed by Trevor Brown, Gerd Warnke and Tim Allison with same score of 38. Rob Ashby of Mornington snatched a prize for scoring 37. Balls were handed down to 35.
Tim had a great day with NTP (about 20 cms away from the hole) and did not pay the pig fund for making a Two. So did Martin Leung.
For the Bunny of the day, it was hotly contested but Chris Pearce finally won the prize even though Geoff Lee and Luke Underwood had the same score.
For raffles, the first prize went to Ian Patience, the second went to David Norton (whose number had been picked by Victor) and third prize went to Graeme Crocker.
So, it was an enjoyable day for all the participants and we look forward to the main tournament on Saturday. Regards Victor
Team Yip Twilight Golf
As a result of a recent secret, but close ballot (19-16), it was agreed that blood sacrifices made in order to propitiate the rain gods were now no longer appropriate at KGC Twilight, instead at least one playing group must sacrifice all their balls to a bunker in order to maintain a dry atmosphere. The rest of the players would like to thank Graeme Couper, Raewyn Devlin and Stu Craft for taking one for the team! This act did seem to work, and all 17 players managed to play their rounds without getting wet. Richard Reith was particularly grateful as not only did he take the top prize with 22 stablefords but he also took out the nearest-to-the-pin on Hole #1. Wayne Cook and Tim Brosnahan pushed him all the way finishing on 21. At the other end of the field Stu “The Sandman” Craft won the prize for most golf played.
If you want to be on the Twilight mailing list, email me at antonykennedy@hotmail.com with the subject line “Twilight Rolls”. If you give me your emails, I can contact you when the weather is looking iffy and let you know whether it is on or not!
Ramlal Misra
Ram has sent the club an email to say that he has had to return at short notice to India for family reasons and expects to be there for about a year. He would like to pass on his regards to everyone and apologise for not getting a chance to say farewell to his regular playing partners. Shortly before leaving he donated a couple of sets of golf clubs to the club for which we are very grateful. Cheers Ram, hopefully we will see you back here when you return to NZ.
Sponsor Speak
The 12th hole is one of our signature holes, with an awe inspiring view and a green that is driveable for some off the white tees. It can trip you up though, just as computers can, so it is fitting that it is sponsored by Need A Nerd, experts in most things technical. Whenever you’ve got a computer problem, they are the ones to call – 0800 63 33 26.
Need A Nerd
Happy golfing, play safely,
Your KGC Committee